Rental Property Investment Resources

Zillow is #1 in mobile real estate according to a recent report.*

Now that Zillow has added the BlackBerry app, more than 90-percent of smartphone users can access Zillow’s popular data and information on over 100 million U.S. home, including homes for sale and rent.

BlackBerry highlights include:

• # Built-in GPS technology
• # Zestimate home valuations
• # Homes for sale
• # Homes for rent
• # Rent Zestimates
• # Make Me Move listings
• # Recently sold data

Zillow has you covered for: iPhone iPad Android and BlackBerry

• # See and download the Zillow BlackBerry App here
• # Download the Zillow app for iPhone here
• # Download the iPad app here
• # Download the Android app here
• # Download the Windows Mobile app here

* comScore MobiLens Jan 2011 Mobile Subscriber Market Share report, issued March 7, 2011.

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Rent ratio, aka, price-to-rent-ratio, and rental yields are important parts of market real estate analysis.

Following are the calculated ratios for all US states in a table. These are very important for out-of-state and foreign investors, because they can help with the market decision.

Price to rent ratio (P/R) is a great and simple calculation showing the attractiveness of a certain Real Estate market or area and therefore is an important part of Real Estate Analysis.

It compares median house price and median rent in that market. This ratio actually says how many annual rents would have to be spent for buying an average house.

Some markets with very high ratio (i.e. California P/R is 17) do not show such a good opportunity for an investment, because the return on investment would most probably be low. This ratio can help an investor to decide which market to invest in. However it cannot be taken as the only decision maker, since even in high P/R markets there can be investments which will have high returns.

Rent Ratio

Price to Rent Ratio = Median House Price / Median Annual Rent

Gross Rental Yield is a very similar calculation as the P/R ratio. In fact it is calculated just by dividing the Annual Rent by the House Price.

Gross Rental Yield = Median Annual Rent / Median House Price

Many investors looking for an out-of-state investment property are considering the actual market condition in the various states. This is especially important for investors who are not counting (or speculating) on great appreciation, but rather on long term holding strategy and positive cashflow from renting out the property.

To get the required median rents and prices, use “Fair Market Rents” estimated by HUD for section 8 tenants. These rents are however higher than the real market rents. Therefore I have taken the median rent of a 2-bedroom unit and decreased it by 20%. The Fair Market Rents are freely accessible at the HUD website.

Finding the median house prices was much easier. I simply used Trulia.com, because they have this number calculated for each state: Trulia (except of Missouri for some reason).

The rest was quite easy – simply I put everything into a table, which is displayed below. I do realize that the numbers might not be that exact, since I had to use the section 8 rents, but if there is a mistake in the numbers, it would be a systematical mistake which would influence all of the numbers. Therefore this table can be very useful as a benchmark of all the states.

As expected, California and Nevada do not provide such high rental yield as some less popular states, such as Dakotas, Oklahoma, etc. This can definitely be useful for many real estate investors looking for out-of-state investments or all foreign investors coming to buy a house in the USA. Original story here

Rent Ratio Calculations for U.S. States

Figures are subject to change so do your own calculations for the most recent numbers.
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Source: http://ezinearticles.com/5904389

Your real estate investing success depends on many factors, including hiring an excellent property manager

The wrong property manager will cost you money, as in being nickel and dimed, or drive good tenants away.

TIP: Ask experienced real estate investors in your area who they use for property management. If they don’t use a manager, ask them if they have heard of any good managers other real estate investors they know use.

You should even ask the investor the following questions about their recommended management company to see the answers will jive with the management company’s when you call them.

Here are 15 property manager interview questions to help you weed out the flakes and find the gems:

• #1. What are your property management fees?
• #2. What services does that fee cover?
• #3. What does your company charge for other services(evictions, finding new tenants, lease-options exercised)?
• #4. Is the maintenance you use in-house, or contractors that you frequently use? Do they charge by the hour, or the job? How much?
• #5. Do you manage properties in the (area you own investment property) area? If so, how many?
• #6. How many property managers do you have? #How many units does each manage on average?
• #7. How long has your company been in business? #What is the average length you’ve managed your client’s properties for?
• #8. Do you manage any lease-options/rent-to-own properties? (if you have any or plan on having any)
• #9. What info do you provide the owner with on a monthly basis?
• #10. What do you need the owner to do on a monthly basis?
• #11. How many phone calls do you make to the owner per month on average?
• #12. How do you advertise and market the properties?
• #13. Can you give me five references right now?

real estate investing, commercial property foreclosure, property investments, buying rental property, rental property investment, property investors

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If you are on a mission to find great real estate deals, then you need all the best tools at your fingertips, right? Then you should love this list!

The following is a list of the top 16 free real estate-related iPhone apps as reported by TopAppCharts.com along with their rankings in their relevant category and some of the apps’ most salient, self-reported features. FYI: TopAppCharts’ rankings can change daily.

1. Realtor.com (No. 17 in Lifestyle section):
Search for-sale homes, see property details, view open house information, save searches and listings, share listings with family and friends, and save private ratings and notes for listings of interest. (See related story.)

2. Zillow Real Estate (No. 25 in Lifestyle section):
Search for-sale, for-rent and recently sold properties; see estimated home valuations; filter search by monthly payment, price, number of bedrooms and number of bathrooms; share listings through e-mail, Facebook and Twitter; save searches and receive e-mail notifications when new properties match saved search criteria. (See related story.)

3. NearBuy Real Estate Search (No. 44 in Business):
Search location-based classified listings of for-sale and for-rent houses, condominiums and apartments; view map-based results; see photos; and take virtual tours.

4. Redfin Real Estate (No. 49 in Lifestyle):
Search GPS-enabled and MLS-powered listings; view property details and photos; take photos and save notes for promising listings. Search is available only for select major metropolitan areas. (See related story.)

5. For Sale For Rent Foreclosure Real Estate (No. 61 in Navigation):
See up to 25 nearby homes for-rent, for-sale and in foreclosure; link to a home’s website for property details; view photos; and map listings.

6. StreetEasy Real Estate (No. 92 in Business):
Search for-sale and for-rent properties in New York City, Northern New Jersey and the East End of Long Island; search for nearby listings and for listings in any building by name or address; and see property information, including descriptions, photos, market data, and listings in the same building. (See related story.)

7. Trulia Real Estate Search (No. 109 in Lifestyle): Search nearby for-sale homes in one touch; see nearby open houses; view detailed property price histories; save searches; and look up driving directions using Google Maps.

8. Homes.com Real Estate Search (No. 110 in Lifestyle): Customize for-sale and for-rent property search; filter search by MLS number, price, property types and features; view interactive maps; bookmark favorite properties; obtain driving directions; and share properties with people you know.

9. ZipRealty Real Estate (No. 142 in Lifestyle): Use augmented reality Home Scan feature to view for-sale or recently sold property details such as asking or sold price, photos, and distance from you; filter and save searches; see home-value estimates. This app is available in 36 major markets in 22 states and the nation’s capital.

10. Puluwai Real Estate (No. 168 in Finance): Search results by location; see results in list-view, map-view or photo gallery; automatically save searches; save favorite properties; filter searches.

11. NY Times Real Estate (No. 178 in Lifestyle): Search properties and open houses worldwide by location, keyword and multiple listing service number; see photos and floor plans; read current articles from the New York Times Real Estate section; refine searches by price reductions or for-sale-by-owner listings; calculate monthly mortgage payments; save searches, favorite listings, own photos and notes; get e-mail notifications of new listings; contact real estate agents with one touch.

12. AgentFirst Real Estate (No. 206 in Business): Search First American Title’s property information database, including parcel/tract information and property sale information; and order tax information, recorded documents, sales comparables and property profiles. This app requires the user to have an active AgentFirst account.

13. Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Home Selection Assistant (No. 208 in Lifestyle): Track and organize your photos by location; see comparative home values, school information, demographics and nearby amenities; create photo albums of favorite properties and rooms; share photos on Facebook or through e-mail; and read real estate-related articles at bhgrealestate.com. (See related story.)

14. Coldwell Banker Real Estate Search (No. 288 in Lifestyle): Search for-sale and recently sold homes in the U.S. and more than 25 other countries; save searches and favorite properties; get new listings notifications on your app icon; and contact an agent in one touch. (See related story.)

15. Real Estate Hunter (No. 248 in Finance): Keep track of your search of for-sale or for-rent listings by entering property information such as housing type, price, address, size, property tax and maintenance fees; automatically calculate mortgage and monthly costs; compare asking and offer prices; add your own photos and contacts; rate each property; store additional information in custom fields; and e-mail a CSV file of your data to open in Excel and other programs.

This app supports information for up to three properties; an additional fee allows users to enter information for an unlimited number of properties.

16. Real Estate Resource Directory (No. 252 in Business): This app links real estate investors to resources such as comparable sales tools, demographics information, calculators, property valuation software, lead-generation websites, and referrals to contractors and real estate professionals.

TopAppCharts.com has tracked iPhone application rankings since Aug. 1, 2009. The site allows users to search for rankings by keyword or iTunes App Store category. There is no “real estate” category, and the apps related to a keyword search for “real estate” are variously classified under “business,” “lifestyle,” “finance” or “navigation.”
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Source: http://www.topappcharts.com/search.php?show=search&string=real+estate&start=0&price=free

3 Crucial Keys To Investing Success: The most successful real estate investors #1. Pick a niche like foreclosures, probate sales, commercial property, tax certificate sales and the like – #2. Learn all there is to know about that niche – #3. Exploit the heck out of it for maximum profits.
Click here to get proven help with selecting the most lucrative real estate investing niches

P.S. Need money for your deals?
Click here for the best sources for money or zero down real estate sources

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Discover additional tools all real estate buyers should utilize to avoid costly mistakes and enhance their professionalism

The most successful real estate investors never stop learning how to be better at what they do.

This article will highlight a few excellent tools to help you either avoid costly mistakes – including those as a landlord – or to enhance your professionalism as a real estate investor.

3 Crucial Keys To Investing Success: The most successful real estate investors #1. Pick a niche like foreclosures, probate sales, commercial property, tax certificate sales and the like – #2. Learn all there is to know about that niche – #3. Exploit the heck out of it for maximum profits.
Click here to get proven help with selecting the most lucrative real estate investing niches

P.S. Need money for your deals?
Click here for the best sources for money or zero down real estate sources

Technorati Tags: real estate investing, real estate terms, avoid lawsuits, landlord